Sleuths
by FadedPromise
Summary: Just a bit of crack. Follows on episode 0508 so spoilers ahead. I don't own DBM.


"Blake and Blake Investigations," Jean announced into the telephone. "Hello, Mrs. Henderson, how can we help you?… Yes, I heard about your dear late husband. You have our deepest sympathies… I'm sorry to hear the police couldn't help find his killer. We'd be happy to see what we can do. We're booked up for the rest of today, I'm afraid. Would tomorrow at two o'clock be all right?… Yes, we'll see you then."

She hung up the phone and turned toward the consult room just as Mr. and Mrs. Fox emerged, with Mrs. Fox holding their six-year-old daughter Annie.

"How can we ever thank you, Doctor?" Mr. Fox said for the third time. "Our daughter would surely have been killed by that madman if you hadn't found her in time."

"Yes, well, my wife deserves most of the credit," Lucien said, moving over to wrap an arm around Jean's shoulders. "I would never have known there was an abandoned well on the property if she hadn't mentioned it."

"I don't know what Ballarat would do without the two of you," Mrs. Fox exclaimed. "The police department can't do much more than write tickets and shut down poker games these days."

"Well, I'm just glad we got to your daughter in time," said Jean.

"Yes," said Lucien. He leaned over to catch little Annie's eye. "And you, young lady, no more taking sweets from strangers, understood?"

The little girl nodded, and with a final round of thank yous, the Fox family departed.

Lucien kissed Jean passionately. "Another successful outcome, my dear. Now, who's next?"

Jean consulted her notes. "Patrick Tyneman should be here momentarily to pick up the stolen jewels you recovered."

"You mean _we_ recovered. You know I would never found them if you hadn't mentioned Weasel Williams was having an affair with Susan Tyneman."

"Yes, I still don't know why she would have an affair with a known criminal. I thought she had better taste in men."

"Well, my dear, she married Patrick, didn't she? What does that say about her taste in men?"

Jean ran a hand over his cheek. "Be nice, Lucien."

"I'll be nice when Patrick stops flirting with you," Lucien growled. "Although I can appreciate that he may not be able to help himself. I certainly can't." He pulled her into a fervent embrace and kissed all over her face and neck.

She smiled, enjoying his attentions as she always did. Married for three months now and if anything, his ardor had only deepened in that time.

When he showed no signs of stopping his advances, she slipped her hand between their bodies. "As lovely as this is, we have work to do, Doctor. You know how busy we are."

He gave her one last peck on the lips before pulling away. And just in time, as Charlie walked through the door. They were both surprised to note he was wearing civilian clothes in lieu of his uniform.

"Charlie?" said Lucien.

"Aren't you on duty?" asked Jean.

"I would be, if I was still on the force," Charlie said ruefully.

"Don't tell me you were fired?" Lucien demanded, ready to be angry with Matthew.

"No, I quit," Charlie admitted.

" _I_ got fired," said Matthew, walking in right behind Charlie. "Melbourne wasn't happy with our arrest rate."

"And I quit, like Charlie," said Bill Hobart, trailing in behind Matthew.

"I never even got hired," said Alice, bringing up the rear. "Honestly, Former Chief Superintendent. What were you thinking, hiring Doctor Wallace to replace Lucien?"

"I don't understand," said Jean. "Why are you all here?"

"We want to work for you," Alice said bluntly. "Do some real good, for a change."

"I just want to be on the winning side," Bill admitted.

"Are you all sure?" asked Lucien, looking to Jean for her opinion.

"Well, we do have a lot more work than we can handle by ourselves," Jean reminded him.

"You're right, as always," he said, smiling at her. He turned to the others. "Just one thing: we have a rule here. Drinking is definitely allowed on the job. In fact, we stop every day for a mid-afternoon tipple. Any problems with that?" His gaze lingered on Matthew.

"Not a one," Matthew assured him.

"Well then, he's all have a drink to seal the deal."


End file.
